U.N. chief looks forward to North, South Korea talks in New York: spokesman

FILE PHOTO - U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres, speaks to the media after a meeting with Costa Rica's President Carlos Alvarado at the Presidential house in San Jose, Costa Rica July 16, 2018. REUTERS/Juan Carlos Ulate

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres praised efforts by North and South Korea to build trust and confidence and looked forward to discussing with the parties in September what support he can offer to aid peace and denuclearization, a U.N. spokesman said on a Monday.

"The Secretary-General looks forward to discussing how he can further support the parties in their diplomatic efforts to bring sustainable peace, security, and complete and verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula during the upcoming high-level week of the United Nations General Assembly," U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in, U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho are currently expected to attend the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations in New York during the last week of September.